Relatively few foaming fermented dairy compositions intended for human consumption have been described to date, in spite of their clear commercial potential.
Thus, Krasaekoopt & Bhatia (2012) AU Journal of Technology 15:166-171 describe the production of yogurt foam using methylcellulose and egg albumin as foaming agents. However, the yogurt foam thus produced is intended for yogurt powder production and is not intended for human consumption as such. Besides, when yogurt powder was used to prepare a drinking yogurt, orange flavor was added, thereby making difficult to assess the organoleptic impact of the foaming agents used on the drinking yogurt, which was “moderately liked” by a testing panel.
In addition, U.S. Pat. No. 4,374,155 describes a composition containing yogurt which, upon manual shaking, produces a drink containing entrapped air having a milk shake appearance. The composition contains yogurt and milk in a yogurt:milk ratio of 80:20 to 53:47, a soya protein whipping agent (i.e. foaming agent) and a stabilizer. However, the soya protein whipping agent has not been demonstrated to be a suitable foaming agent for compositions consisting only of yogurt. Besides, the organoleptic impact of the whipping agent on the obtained composition is not reported.
Accordingly, there is a need for alternative foaming agents, which could be used in fermented dairy compositions and which would not be detrimental to their organoleptic properties.
Caseinomacropeptide (CMP) is a glycopeptide which is released in whey from the action of chymosin on milk κ-casein, essentially during the milk-clotting process of cheese-making. CMP is glycosylated and is therefore also named caseinoglycomacropeptide (CGMP) or glycomacropeptide (GMP). In this regard, there is a significant difference in the non-peptide part of CMP from species such as cow, ewe or goat. In contrast, the amino acid composition of CMP from these species is very similar.